Shirt with permanently attached collar



M. D. VIOLA SHIRT WITH PERMANENTLY ATTACHED COLLAR May 1, 1.962

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 23, 1957 May 1, 1962 M. D. vloLA 3,031,678

SHIRT WITH PERMANENTLY ATTACHED COLLAR Filed Dec. 23, 1957 2 sheets-sheet z United States Patent O 3,031,678 i SHIRT WITH PERMANENTLY ATTACHED COLLAR Michael D. Viola, Revere, Mass., assigner to The Vanta Company, Inc., Brockton, Mass., a corporation of Rhode Island Filed Dec. 23, 1957, Ser. No. 704,529 4 Claims. (Cl. 2-116) This invention pertains to garments, in particular shirts, and to a novel method of making and attaching a collar to a shirt and to a novel collar `for use in the practice of said method.

In accordance with a widely used practice, the collar t of a shirt comprises a top ply which forms the exposed surface'of the collar when the latter is worn, a rear ply which is concealed when the collar is worn, and an intermediate liner which is .of a character such as to impar-t stiffness and to make the collar stand up in the desired manner when worn. Commonly, the top and rear plies are of relatively soft material, the top ply, at least, usually being of the same fabric as the shirt body while the liner is of some other and stiifer material or a material which is capable of being made stii, forinstance canvas, or a mesh-like fabric impregnated with a stiifening medium.

However, while it is desirable that the collar, as a whole', possess a certain degree of stiffness, the stiffness of the usual collar has the undesirable effect of making thecollar stand out away from the wearers neck if the collar be even slightly larger than the correct size for the wearer. This is especially noticeable in a sport shirt in which a soft, drapy type of material is employed such as might naturally be expected to hug the Wearers neck regardless of a slight error in size.

Customarily, in attaching a shirt collar to a shirt body, it has been thought necessary to use a single-stitch seam because it is inconspicuous so that it may be exposed at the exterior of the shirt without substantial detriment to appearance; but, the employment of such a seam demands a high degree of skill upon the part of the operator and the stitching of such a seam is relatively slow so that the use of a seam of that type is expensive, as compared with the employment of an overlook seam. However, the

latter type of seam is wide and conspicuous and undesirable in exposed locations so that its use has heretofore been limited.

Objects of the present invention are to providea novel method of making a shirt collar such as to make possible the substitution of the overlook seam for a single-stitch seam in certain steps of the operation, thus, cutting cost of production. A further object is to provide a novel collar useful in the practice of the method above referred to and so designed that, at the lower mid-portion of that part of the collar which is attached to the shirt, the collar comprises a relatively `soft area there being no stiiener at that particular location) although the collar is stiiened at all other points, so that the collar tends to follow the natural shape of the wearers neck even though the collar size may not be of exactly the correct size, thus insuring a neat appearance.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: l`

FIG. 1 is a front elevation illustrating a sport shirt made in accordance with the present invention, the shirt being folded as is customary when the shirt is placed on sale;

FIG. 2"is a plan view of the rear member of the shirt collar;

3,031,578 Patented May 1, 1962 ICC FIG. 3 is a plan view of the top or exposed member of the shirt collar;

FIG. 4 is a plan View of the collar liner;

FIG. 5 is a plan view, showing the collar topand the liner assembled and united as the first step in the making of the collar;

FIG. 6 is a section, to larger scale, on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but showing the result of a later step in the making of a collar;

FIG. 8 is a section on the line 8--8 of FIG. 7, but to larger scale;

FIG. 9 is a rear View of the collar, showing all of its several parts assembled and united;

FIG. 10 is a section on the line lll-10 of FIG. 9, but to larger scale;

FIG. 11, is a section similar to FIG. l0, but showing the collar turned right-Side out;

FIG. 12 is a section similar to FIG. 1l, but showing the collar assembled with the shirt body;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary view, showing a portion of the right-hand upper part of the shirt at its inside and with the left-hand facing turned inside out, and illustrating the first step in the operation of securing the collar to the shirt body;

FIG. 14 is a view generally similar to FIG. 13, but showing tthe left-hand facing turned right-side out and illustrating the second step in the attachment of the collar to the shirt body; and,

F IG. 15 is a view generally similar to FIG. 14, but showing the collar as having been completely attached to the shirt body.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 20 designates a shirt, for example a childs sport shirt, in its finished condition and folded ready for sales display. The shirt body 21 may be made of anysuitable material, usually of a soft textile fabric, for example fine gauge knitted goods, and having `the collar 22 and facings 23a and 23b (FIG. 15) at opposite sides of a front placket opening. One of these facings is provided with buttons and the other with buttonholes in customary fashion. l

In accordance with the present invention, the collar comprises three plies of textile material including the top or exposed ply 24, the liner ply 25 and the rear ply Z6. The top ply 24 is usually of the same .material as the body of the shirt, although not necessarily so, and the rear ply 26 may be of the same material or of a different material, as preferred. The liner 25 is of a material stiffer than thetop ply 24 and rear ply 26, for example it may be of canvas or possibly of a coarse, meshed material stiifened with a suitable impregnant such as a. resin compound. The several plies 24, 25 and 26 are substantially rectangular and of the same general dimensions except that the liner 25is provided at its lower margin, at its central portion, with a segment-shaped recess 27 located symmetrically with respect to its right and left` ends and having the arcuate edge 27a, while the top ply 24 is provided at its lower margin with a downwardly directed, integral tab 28 having an arcuate edge 2Sl of a curvature similar'to the edge 27a of the recess in the liner but of a somewhat larger radius.

Having prepared these several plies to form the collar, the top ply 24 and the liner 25 are assembled with their end and top edges in registry and they are then united by a single-stitch seam 29 as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, as thus united, the tab 2S depends below the lower edge of the liner; but, as a second step in the formation of the collar, this tab is turned upwardly as lshown in FIG. 8 so that the margin of the tab overlies the edge 27'3 of the recess in the liner, and then the tab is secured to the liner by a single-stitch seam 30 which passes acelera 3 through the margin of the tab, the liner and the mai body of the collar top 24.

The rear member 26 of the collar is now assembled (FIG. 9) with the united top and liner so that it contacts the exposed surface of the top 24, and then the several plies are united by a single-stitch seam 31 which extends along both ends and along the top of the rear member 26 andthrough the top member and liner. If preferred, the three plies may be assembled and united in a single operation, thus making unnecessary the second seam 31, after which the tab is turned up and secured by the seam 30.

The partsv are now turned inside out so that they occupy the position illustrated in FIG. 1l, it being noted that the lower edge 32 of the folded tab 28 and the lower edge 32a of the back member 26 are not united, but are free to be separated.

The shirt,'except for the collar, is made in any usual manner, including shoulder seams 33 (FIG. 13) and facings 23a (FIG. 14) and 23h (FIG. l) atI opposite sides of a front placket opening. Each of the facings desirably comprises two thicknesses of the material used in' making the shirt body, and a liner 34 (FIG. .13) of stiifening material of any suitable type. In FIG. 13, the upper part of the shirt, at the right-hand side only, is shown.A In this View, the facing 23a (FIG. 14) s shown as turned inside out so that the ply of the facing which, in the completed shirt, will be at the inside, is now disposed at the rear side of the shirt body. This facing is provided at its upper end with a more or less` triangular tail portion 23x, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 13.

With the parts in this position (it being understood that the facing on the opposite side has likewise been turned inside out), the collar is disposed at the rear side of the body of the shirt with its edges 32 and 32a in registry with the upper edge 35 of the shirt body and with that end ofthe collar which will be the right-hand end in the completed shirt disposed between the two plies of the facing 23a. An overlock seam 37 is now started at the pointv36 and continued alongv the upper edge 35 of the shirt body until it reaches the right-hand end 30X of the seam 30 (FIG. 14) which secures the margin of the tab 2S to the liner. At this point 30X, the sewing of the seam 37 is now intermitted for a period sufficient tov enable the operator to turn the edge 32 of Y the collar away from the line of stitch-formation, where'- upon the overlock seam 37 is continued until it reaches the opposite end of the arcuate seam 30, but during this period, securing only the rear ply 26 of the collar to the shirt body. When the Vlast-named end of the seam 30 is reached, the operator again brings the edge 32 of the collar into the! line of formation of the overlock seam and the latter is continued until the left-hand end of the collar is reached where the overlock seam is terminated. It'may be noted that, during the formation of the overlock seam, the triangular tail-pieces 23X of the facings 232 and 23h are caught by the stitches'of the overlock seam at the same points as the collar edge 32 and lare turned away from the line of stitch-formation at the same time. i

The collar is now turned up to the position shown in FIG.' 14 and the facings 23a and 231D are turned partially right side' out. The unsewn portion of the collar edge 32 is now brought .down to overlap the overlock seam 357. The unsewn edges of the facing tails 23X, as shown in FIG. 14, which are still in inside-out position, are laid in registry with the collar edge 32 to the extent of their length. A single-stitch seam 38, as shown in FIG. l5, is now formed, beginning either at the point 36 (FIG. 13) or at the point 39X (FIG. 14) as desired, and extended tothe corresponding point at the opposite side of the shirt. The stitches of this seam pass through the outer edges of the extreme ends of the facing tailsf23x, through the edge 32 of the collar, through the body of the shirt and through the collar back 26, thus uniting all of the collar plies to the shirt body. The remaining portions of the facing tails 23X may now be turned right-side out. When so turned, the facing tails conceal the end portions of the overlock seam and the end portions of the single-stitch seam 38, while the collar edge 32 conceals the center portion of said overlock seam so that only the center portion of the single-stitch seam remains exposed to View.

The result of this operation is that, although an overlock seam is employed at certain parts in attaching the collar, thus cutting costs of production, the only seams which are visible in the completed shirt are single-stitch seams so that the shirt has the Vdesired finished appearance such as is customarily attained only by the employment of single-stitch seamsthroughout in making and attaching the collar.

By the above construction, the centralv lower portion of the'collar consists only of plies of relatively soft shirt material, the liner being absent atA this part of the collarso that, when worn, there is no tendency for the collar to stand out away from the wearers neck at the rear, even though the collar may not be of the exact size normally requisite to insure a good fit. Moreover, the softness of the collar, at this point, makes it more comfortable for the wearer.

While a certain desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been disclosed by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications either of material or method steps such as found within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination in a shirt Whose body portion, at least, is of a soft textile fabric, a collar which is permanently attached to the shirt, said collar including tl top ply, a rear ply and a stiff liner, the top and rear plies being of a material softer than that of the liner, the liner having a centrally located, segment-shaped recess in its lower margin of a length substantially less than that of said lower margin and located centrally of said margin, and a layer of material, softer than .the liner, disposed in registry with the recess in the liner and which is secured to the liner by a sewed seam following the arcuate edge of the recess whereby, at the location of the recess, the collar comprises three plies only, all of which are of a material softer than the liner.

2. In combination, in a shirt whose body portion, at A least, is of soft textile fabric, a collar permanently attached to the shirt and which includes a top ply, a rear ply and a ,stiff liner, the top and rear plies being of the same soft material asV the shirt body and the liner being of a stiffer material, the several part of the collar being of suchrelative shapes that, at the lower central portion only of the part of the collar which is attached to the shirt, the liner is absent and in its place there is a layer of the same material as that which forms the top ply of the collar, further characterized in that at the lower central portion of that part of the collar which is attached to the shirt, the liner has a recess whose upper edge is arcuate andthe top ply comprises an integral tab of a contour similar to that of the recess, and a sewed seam v extending along the edge of the recess and uniting the curved edge of the tab to the liner whereby, at said central portion, the collar consists only of three plies of the is to be attached, the liner havinga recess, whose edge is arcuate, in the center of its unsewn edge, and the top having an integral tab on its'unsewn edge folded over said liner recess and united to the liner by a single-stitch seam.

4. A shirt having a permanently attached collar comprising relatively soft top and back collar plies, a relatively stili collar liner, said top, back and liner being of substantially rectangular shape and of approximately the same dimensions, a single-stitch seam extending along three sides thereof for uniting said top, back and liner, said liner having a recess Whose edge is arcuate at the center of its other side, said top ply having an integral tab on its other side folded over said liner recess, a single-stitch seam uniting said tab to the liner, a shirt body having a front placket opening bordered at each side by a two-ply facing, liners between the facing plies, the inner ply of each facing having a generally rectangular tail piece at its upper end, said collar being disposed inside out at the rear side of said shirt body with the edges of said other top, back and liner sides in registry with the upper edge of the shirt body and said inner plies of the shirt facings being disposed inside out at the rear side of the shirt body with the upper edges of the facing tail pieces in registry with the upper edge of the shirt body, an overlook-stitch seam extending along the upper edge of the shirt body for uniting portions of the tail pieces and shirt body to the top, back and liner of the collar at either side of the collar liner recess and for 6 uniting the shirt body to the back ply of the collar behind the collar liner recess, the remaining portions of the tail pieces and top collar ply being disposed right side out along the inner side of the shirt body, and a singlestitch seam securing said remaining portions to the shirt body.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 305,481 Shaier Sept. 23, 1884 422,054 Keller Feb. 25, 1890 655,272 Pine Aug. 7, 1900 1,138,895 Rubinstein May 11, 1915 2,343,066 Levy Feb. 29, 1944 2,344,204 Doumaux Mar. 14, 1944 2,345,764 May Apr. 4, 1944 2,604,628 Payne July 29, 1952 2,629,872 Liebowitz Mar. 3, 1953 2,651,043 McCreery Sept. 8, 1953 2,681,450 Adams June 22, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 151,187 Australia Apr. 30, 1953 

